Illinois School District to Upgrade Campus Entrances

“By doing the security upgrades, we are just limiting access to anyone unless they really truly need to come into the building," Pikeland School District Superintendent Paula Hawley said.

By Jessica Davis

February 19, 2019

Pikeland School District in Pittsfield, Ill., plans to update entrances on all three of its campuses to improve safety. The renovations are planned for the summer.

District officials said they will be adding a new window in between two sets of doors at the middle school.

“They’ll come in, we’ll ask them what their purpose is, decide if they need to enter the building, and then they’d be allowed through this door after that,” Pikeland Community School Principal Jon Frieden said.

Frieden said this will improve safety for students on campus.

“Even though it seems like a little upgrade, anything we can do to add a level of security in our building to keep our kids and staff safer is always important,” Frieden said.

South Elementary School will have a similar setup. The window will be added to a wall before a second set of entrance doors. Principal Angiel Ruebust said the system will make drop-offs and visitor management more secure.

“We love to have our parents here to visit us, but this will be another way to ensure their students’ safety,” Ruebush said.

Adding a window and a second set of doors will limit the number of people who enter the campuses, according to Pikeland School District Superintendent Paula Hawley.

“We have a lot of people that come to the school in the course of a day, and most of them really don’t need access into the entire building,” Hawley said. “By doing the security upgrades, we are just limiting access to anyone unless they really truly need to come into the building.”

The high school will receive the same update. The district plans to begin construction on the additions in the summer, and Hawley expects that it will be finished by the time school begins in August.

The renovations, Hawley said, ultimately come down to wanting the best for the students and staff on campuses.

“We want to look at doing the things we can do to help improve the safety in all of our buildings for student and staff,” Hawley said.